Steve McQueen's brutally human epic, based on the memoirs of Solomon Northup, towered above all other 2013 releases. Not only impeccably acted, designed and photographed, but John Ridley's adapted screenplay preserved the 19th century's elegant grammar, lending a horrible air of civility to the dehumanizing institution of slavery.

Bruce Dern's portrayal of a lifelong loser believing he's finally won something deserves all the awards coming his way. Don't overlook a crucial supporter on this quixotic road trip, former Saturday Night Live cast member Will Forte. As a spurned son needed now, Forte's hangdog expressions and resigned line readings make a perfect foil for Dern.

Everything missing from The Wolf of Wall Street is right here: a clockwork caper, plus characters keeping and using their wits. Director David O. Russell and a knockout cast create a joyous deception, loosely based on the real-life Abscam scandal and reeking with sex and insecurity.

Woody Allen's 44th movie in a 47-year career — a remarkable run — is one of his finest. Cate Blanchett delivers a quicksilver portrait of a disgraced socialite victimized by circumstances within her control. Jasmine is a creature of extravagant habits, unable to sustain them without snaring a man of substance.

Ryan Coogler's movie coincidentally reached theaters in the wake of Trayvon Martin's killing by a neighborhood watchman, echoing the contested shooting of another young African-American, Oscar Grant, played by Michael B. Jordan. Coogler resists heated rhetoric and crafts a debut as direct and devastating as a point blank bullet to the back.

Some movies you just fall in love with. Coming-of-age is common but the spins applied here by co-creators Nat Faxon and Jim Rash make everything fresh. The summer Duncan (Liam James) will never forget involves Mom's bully boyfriend (Steve Carell, against type), a water park cowboy (Sam Rockwell) and, of course, the girl next door. Feel-good movies can't feel much better.

Spike Jonze presents a very modern love story, set in a near future when a lonely writer of other people's love letters (Joaquin Phoenix) falls for his OS personal assistant, a computer program voiced by Scarlett Johansson. It's an impossible scenario played heartbreak plausible, and it took me two viewings to fully appreciate the oddness of it all. (Opens Jan. 10 in the Tampa Bay area)

Greenwich Village's folk music scene in 1961 is where a surly musician going nowhere (Oscar Isaac) frays his remaining threads of friendship. The movie begins and ends with Llewyn getting punched, and in-between Joel and Ethan Cohen craftily show why. Music is vital, of course, often sung and strummed by Isaac in a charismatic performance. (Opens Jan. 10 in the Tampa Bay area)

This movie haunted me since April when its fateful drama — sins of fathers visited upon sons — first unfolded. Derek Cianfrance boldly structures his film around two stars (Ryan Gosling, Bradley Cooper) barely sharing a scene, in an unpretentious saga of crime, corruption and revenge. It's what literary types call a page turner.

Steve Persall can be reached at persall@tampabay.com or (727) 893-8365. Follow @StevePersall on Twitter.